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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1964 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1142 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Edward J. Kennedy |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act restoring a lower threshold for permit challenges. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Edward J. KennedyFirst Middlesex 1 of 1 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1964 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1142 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Kennedy, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1142) of Edward J. Kennedy for |
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| 19 | 19 | | legislation to restore a lower threshold for permit challenges in court decisions. The Judiciary. |
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| 20 | 20 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
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| 22 | 22 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | An Act restoring a lower threshold for permit challenges. |
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| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 27 | 27 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | 1 Chapter 40A of the General Laws, as amended by Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2024, is |
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| 29 | 29 | | 2hereby further amended in Section 17 by striking out the third paragraph and inserting in place |
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| 30 | 30 | | 3thereof the following paragraph:- |
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| 31 | 31 | | 4 The court, in its discretion, may require a plaintiff in an action under this section |
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| 32 | 32 | | 5appealing a decision to approve a special permit, variance or site plan to post a surety or cash |
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| 33 | 33 | | 6bond in an amount of not more than $50,000 to secure the payment of costs if the court finds that |
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| 34 | 34 | | 7the harm to the defendant or to the public interest resulting from delays caused by the appeal |
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| 35 | 35 | | 8outweighs the financial burden of the surety or cash bond on the plaintiffs. The court shall |
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| 36 | 36 | | 9consider the relative merits of the appeal and the relative financial means of the plaintiff and the |
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| 37 | 37 | | 10defendant. |
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